Migrants & Workers Unite to Fight Trump's Fascist Terror!
Statement of ILPS US & ILPS SoCal
The International League of Peoples' Struggle US Country Chapter and Southern California (SoCal) vehemently denounce the militarized attacks on migrant communities in Los Angeles and around the country, where migrant workers are being kidnapped in broad daylight, violently torn from their families, and left to languish in ICE custody with their basic rights violated. We wholeheartedly support the courageous resistance of the people who have been rising up against this repression and pledge to continue working with migrants, workers, and others to build the movement to defend our communities.
Migrant communities throughout Los Angeles are being terrorized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who have descended on the city, in collaboration with other federal and local law enforcement agencies. Raids targeting day laborers, trade union leaders, garment workers, and their families at locations throughout the county led to more than 100 arrests, and hundreds of undocumented migrants who went to their regular check-in appointments at the Federal Building were abruptly detained and forced into the basement, where they were kept separate from their families with little food, water, or ventilation.
Families of detained migrants and other community members seeking to defend their neighborhoods and workplaces from ICE were met with military-style force, weaponry, and tactics–including the use of tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and flash bang grenades. ILPS SoCal members demonstrating with the Community Self Defense Coalition witnessed this fascist attack firsthand outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, and staunchly denounce this militarized escalation against our migrant communities. Over the past 3 days alongside members of Centro CSO and Union del Barrio, ILPS SoCal members have been continuing to mobilize with their communities in opposition to the continued militarization of the city and attacks against the people.
These raids come after ICE was directed to make a minimum of 3,000 arrests per day–a drastic increase from the already high average of 660 arrests per day, and after the Trump administration named they would target so-called "sanctuary cities" like Los Angeles, where the undocumented population is estimated to be nearly one million people. On top of this, Trump's administration is already beginning the deployment of up to 2,000 National Guard, stating that those defending migrants were an "insurrection" against the United States. This language sets the basis for the state targetting and repression of "political dissidence," and is in line with its criminalization of migrants and people's movements and use of open state terror to acheive its objective.
The terrorizing and dehumanization of our migrant communities is absolutely appalling, but is at the same time completely in line with the fascist offensive Trump is waging against the people of the whole country. This has become an era where there is no longer even lip-service to the people's democratic rights.
The only way for us to defeat Trump's fascist attacks is by getting organized and waging a fierce struggle against the imprisonment and repression of our migrant communities. We know that the escalation in raids and deportations serve to sow fear among the people, and to further scapegoat migrants and workers for the problems caused by the ruling class in order to push forward anti-people policies that put profit over people. For-profit detention centers and the prison industrial complex gain the most monetarily, and politicians who back these policies gain more favor and power while the people suffer. Though LA Mayor Bass and CA Governor Newsom have called the raids cruel and chaotic, we must hold them accountable for how they are failing to actively uphold LA as a true Sanctuary City and defend the people's right to protest.
As the clashes between the ruling class in power and the people continue to sharpen, more and more people are realizing the truth of these contradictions and we must ensure they are prepared to mobilize and organize against this fascist anti-migrant offensive and see the links to a larger systemic problem. During the community actions against ICE terror, we saw the power of mobilizing the people against federal agents, even blocking their vehicles from leaving. The people of LA are developing their own community patrols, rapid response defense networks, mutual support networks for keeping communities safe, and increasing the militancy of their protests. Together, we will sharpen our collective analysis, organize our forces against the people's common enemy, and connect this fight to global struggles against fascism and US Imperialism - the number one terrorist in the world!
Build up the mass movement to Defend Peoples' Struggle!
Defend Our Communities! Defend Migrants' Struggle!
ICE Out of LA and ALL Our Cities! Defeat Trump's Fascist Agenda!
No Profit Off Migrant Detention! People Over Profit!